Three ways to lose weight before summer

I don't know about you, but bathing suits make me think of one thing: my muffin top, and not the edible kind. If you have a muffin top of your own that you wish to lose, use these tricks.

•Sleep when it's dark.

Get outside when it's light. University of Munich researchers have found that people who suffer from severe social jet lag — staying awake late into the night and waking to an alarm instead of to sunlight — end up eating more and gaining weight.

Now that most of the good TV shows have gone to reruns for the summer, use this opportunity to hit the sack closer to sundown. Also the authors suggest getting outdoors or at least sitting by a window during the day. The sunlight will help to set your body clock, causing you to become sleepy in the evening.

•Drink water, not soda, with meals.

Researchers at the University of Oregon and Michigan State University found that sweet beverages cause us to crave salty, fatty foods. Also, people (and children) are more likely to eat fruits and vegetables when they consume water instead.

•Turn it into a competition.

Researchers have known for a long time that obesity is contagious. Now they know that the converse is also true. When dieters competed on teams online to see which team could drop the most pounds, they lost more weight than when they went it alone.

Alisa Bowman is a health journalist and author of the book "Project: Happily Ever After," the story of how she saved her marriage.